Summertime“Summertime and the Livin’ is Easy” by Ira Gershwin

The Top 10 True / False Thoughts for Summertime Prospecting1. False: It’s summer, nobody’s around. Why prospect?
    True: Who takes a three-month vacation?
2. False: It’s summer.  All of my prospects are out of town.
    True: All prospects vacation at the same time?
3. False: It’s summer.  Who can prospect in this heat?
    True: Your prospects are probably in their air-conditioned offices waiting for your call.
4. False: It’s Friday afternoon.  Prospects close early.
    True: The employees leave early.  The boss stays and answers the phone.
5. False: It’s Monday morning.  Prospects don’t want me to bother them now.
    True: How do you know what your prospects want?  You haven’t met them yet.
6. False: I’m going away next week.  I can’t make appointments.
    True: In other words, you’re taking a two week vacation.
7. False: I’m just back from my trip.  I need to catch up.  I’ll prospect next week.
    True: See # 6.  Now it’s a three week vacation.
8. False: My assistant is away.  I need to stick around.
    True: Great! Make some contacts while you stick around.
9. False: My assistant is just back from vacation.  We need to catch up.
    True: See # 6.  Now you’re up to a four-week vacation.
10. False: Last two weeks in August.  It’s vacation time. I’ll get going after Labor Day.
      True: See # 6, 7 & 9.  You’re up to a six-week vacation.  58% of the summer is gone.

Some additional coaching tips: 

• Summer reading: Linchpin; Are You Indispensable? by Seth Godin.  Suggest you read the chapter entitled “The Resistance” first.  Extraordinary work.

• This is RADICAL - for the summer – check your email only 5 times per day and that includes your Blackberry, iPhone and any other personal communication device.  Your productivity will skyrocket.

• Your competitors are probably not making calls or new contacts for several of the reasons stated above.

• Your job is to relieve your competition of the burden of their accounts so they can take more time off in the summer!

• Your prospect’s gatekeeper may be out of town.  This is a perfect time to turn this possible advantage into an even greater advantage.

• Have you noticed that as major summer holidays approach like Memorial Day, July 4th and Labor Day that your prospects offer the objection “call me right after the holiday”?  A particularly great time to call is on the Monday and Tuesday after a holiday – they have no appointments and are in waiting for your call.

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